Greener buses are to be rolled out in sections of Brent as part of the Mayor of London’s bid to improve the city’s air quality.

Residents in Kensal Rise have been campaigning for greener buses in the area (Pic: Adam Thomas)

The scheme will take place along the A5 Edgware Road corridor after it was named as one of Sadiq Khan’s new Low Emission Bus Zones.

The new buses, which will be a combination of hybrid and clean buses that meet Euro VI standards, will run along the section between the Edgware Road in Maida Vale to Cricklewood Broadway via Kilburn High Road.

The zones are expected to reduce NO2 emissions from buses along the routes by around 84 per cent as part of an improvement programme involving 3,000 buses outside central London.

Cllr Eleanor Southwood, Brent Council’s lead member for environment, said: “This is fantastic news for residents and businesses along the A5 in particular, and for the area as a whole.

The positive impact of the green bus routes will make a real difference on local roads, including Chamberlayne Road, where residents have been campaigning hard for cleaner air.

“Pollution doesn’t confine itself to specific geographic boundaries and we need regional and national measures to successfully tackle it. We are extremely pleased to be working with Transport for London on the new low emission bus zone and making Brent cleaner and greener.

“Greener busses in Brent will really help our efforts to tackle poor air quality, but we need to continue to encourage everyone to understand the positive or negative effect their actions have on the air we breathe.

“Among the actions we are taking as a council are measures to encourage people to make fewer journeys by car and to walk or cycle instead, using our planning system to ensure new builds are energy efficient and working with schools to mitigate issues with the school run. We’re currently refreshing our air quality action plan and will continue to work in partnership with residents and all of our partners to take action.”

Kensal Rise Residents Association (KRRA), Queens Park Area Residents Association (QPARA), Kensal Triangle Resident Association (KTRA) and Aylestone Park Residents and Tenants, have been fighting for cleaner air for several years as the levels of NO2 on Chamberlayne Road have been documented as being illegally too high.

Fiona Mulaisho, chair of KRRA, told the Times the changes will have a ‘marginal’ impact on the air quality in Kensal Rise as it only affects one of the seven bus routes that serve the area.

She said: “This will only affect the 302 route but it is a step in the right direction.

“However there are 12,041 buses that go through Chamberlayne Road weekly so the impact is marginal.”

Rik Smith, vice chair of KRRA, added: “It’s good to see the mayor is now taking action on pollution levels from TfL buses outside of zone one. “However these emissions are not confined to A roads. As residential roads, local roads and high streets have increasingly taken the burden of increased traffic as our main roads become congested.

“The stated emissions reduction from converting a few routes local to the A5 is staggering and reinforces the disproportionately high emissions buses are responsible for, and the how far the mayor has yet to go to deliver safe air for Londoners.”

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